Why River Smiths Is The Go-to Spot For Lubbock Seafood Lovers

River Smith's has been serving Lubbock since 1976.  That's 49 years of quality seafood on Avenue Q. It is certainly what we call in the south "Deep Fried And Sanctified".

I am very peculiar about restaurants, in fact, it is frequent topic on my morning show in Lubbock. I'm trying to expand my horizons, but one of my core five or so restaurants is River Smith's.

River Smith's is very clean and full of a staff that hustles. These guys and gals knock it out at such a pace that they're almost tripping over each other. The food arrives quickly too. We had barely gotten our soft drinks when our fried zucchini appetizers had arrived and before we polished those off, the food was on the table.

Why River Smiths Is The Go-to Spot For Seafood Lovers

We dove in a butterfly shrimp basket and a catfish basket and they were just perfect. There was also a bit a surprise because I believe the fries have been upgraded and were perfectly crispy with a light coating of something awesome. Call me crazy, but I thought the hush puppies were more flavorful this time around too.

I guess I should double back and say the fried zucchini would have to be one of the top three appetizers in all of Lubbock, and I don't know what the other two would be. The fried zucchini alone is worth the drive over to Avenue Q.

River Smith's has a system where you order at the counter and your food is brought out to. As I said we got a zucchini appetizer, a butterfly fly shrimp basket, a catfish basket (both had the entrée plus fries, hushpuppies, and a biscuit) and two refillable drinks for $40 and change. It was also so much food that we made an entire third meal out of it.

I thought it was crazy how many seniors were dining at the place when I visited. Then again, who would know better about good food at a good value? I'd also say the ol' girl could use a coat a paint. Still, as I mentioned before, not only was the food perfect, it may have been the best I've ever had there. Congrats River Smith's on nearly 50 years of being an iconic, local, Lubbock restaurant.